Russia will face water shortages this summer

Due to light levels of winter snow and a two-month drought many Russian regions will face water shortages this year. According to First Deputy Natural Resources Minister Nikolai Tarasov, who today gave a briefing on the flood situation and water shortages, Rosgidromet's annual flood forecasts have proved incorrect this year. The deputy minister, who is also the head of the State Water Agency, said that 'expecting a lot of water, we released part of it through dams. But there has been significantly less water than was predicted.' As a result, many reservoirs are not full. For example, the water level at the Segozersk reservoir in Karelia is 4.65 metres lower than average.

The deputy minister said that shipping is already restricted on the Volga and Yenisei rivers due to the low water level. A similar situation is arising all around the country. In addition, the low water levels in reservoirs and rivers are reducing the amount of electricity generated by HEP stations.